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At a time when Californians are increasingly concerned about extortionate lawsuits against businesses, large and small, and worried that the legal climate in California is so unfriendly to businesses that many are leaving the state and others are deterred from coming here in the first place,[fn6] today’s ruling goes in exactly the wrong direction.

[fn6] On November 2, 2004, for example, the voters approved Proposition 64, which places limitations on private enforcement of California’s unfair competition law. The supporting ballot argument urged a yes vote to “protect small businesses from frivolous [shakedown] lawsuits” that “make businesses want to move to other states where lawyers don’t have a legal extortion loophole. When businesses leave, taxpayers who remain pick up the burden.” (Ballot Pamp., General Elec. (Nov. 2, 2004) argument in favor of Proposition 64, p. 40.)